We are thrilled to kick off our summer clinic/performance series this year with a VERY special event. We welcome a pair of truly innovative performers, two players who are uniquely expanding the boundaries of musical imagination and the limits of what the saxophone can do. PEDRO SAXO & DEREK BROWN will be here at Saxquest this Saturday, May 28, from 2-4pm.
Individually, they are supremely talented, innovators of the saxophone and together evince a strong creative force to be reckoned with. They are simply mind-blowing and present a powerful concert like nothing you’ve ever experienced. Check out Extreme Saxophone x2.
‘Pedrosaxo is the Bobby McFerrin of the saxophone!’ – Jeff Coffin
‘Derek Brown – Solo saxophone like you’ve NEVER heard it before!.’ – CD Baby
You may know him from YouTube, check this out this fresh take on the 60′s iconic classic Stand By Me. Derek Brown has thrilled and enlightened audiences around the world with his ground-breaking “BEATBoX SAX” style, using innovative, mind-bending techniques to take the saxophone where it’s never gone before! His musicianship is mesmerizing. The freshness and creativity that he can bring to a standard is inspiring.
After pursuing graduate studies at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, Derek Brown went on to be the Director of Jazz Studies at Abilene Christian University, in Abilene, Texas for six years. Now living in Chicago with his wife Rachel, Derek has hit the ground running as a full-time professional freelance saxophonist, a dream he’s had since he picked up the horn in middle school. Without any looping or electronic effects, Derek performs intricate originals and a surprisingly wide range of old and new standards: everything from Bach to Bieber! In his bold new style, Derek simultaneously mixes dozens of classic saxophone extended techniques like slap tonguing, multiphonics, and double tonguing, as well as many of his own innovations like striking the sax with rings, singing lyrics while playing, and even putting an egg shaker in the horn. All of these elements work together to create a surprisingly full, polyphonic sound (percussion + bass lines + melodies) all with one traditionally monophonic instrument, the tenor sax.
Pedrosaxo has revolutionized the saxophone. He has synthesized his many interests – imitation, acting, video gaming, and composition – into a breathtaking and truly unique artistic statement. Quite simply, he has obliterated all previous technical and artistic boundaries, and has achieved it in ways that are fascinatingly beautiful, haunting, appealing, and awe-inspiring.
Since finishing his saxophone studies with honors at the Conservatory of Granada (Spain), Pedro Saxo (Pedro Rafael Garcia Moreno) chose the path of personal research, delving into the study of the saxophone and new forms of interpretation, imitation of sounds, world music, as well as performance practice with professional actors in Madrid. As a result, Pedrosaxo is a unique artist of extreme sensitivity to the world around him, able to describe the atmosphere of faraway places through the saxophone and his body, his music combines originality and traditional saxophone.
Check out a preview of PerdoSaxo on You Tube here and here!
Pedro Saxo is a Vandoren endorsing artist and we thank Vandoren for their support of this event! There will be several giveaways from Vandoren so don’t miss out. Derick Brown is endorsed by Legere Reeds, JodyJazz Mouthpieces, and P. Mauriat Saxophones. As always our events are FREE and open to the public. We hope to see you there!
Also mark your calendar:
Tues June 14 – 6:30-8:30PM – DOUG LAWRENCE with the Saxquest Jazz Orchestra (at Tavern of Fine Arts)
Wed June 15 – 5-7PM – DOUG LAWRENCE
Sat July 9 – 2PM-4PM – JEFF COLLINS & JESSICA KNOPF duet
Sat July 16 – 2PM-4PM – ED CALLE
Saxquest address: 2114 Cherokee St., St. Louis, MO 63118
Tavern of Fine Arts address: 313 Belt Ave, St. Louis, MO 63112
